Letters for April 16, 2015

Minimum raise, instead?

Re “What are you worth?” by Nick Miller (SN&R News, April 9):

This article brings up legitimate concerns about workers earning low wages in spite of years of experience at the same job. Instead of raising the minimum wage, perhaps it would be better to legislate a minimum raise—something like a $.50 increase over minimum wage for every 500 hours worked for the employer (about three months full-time) until earning $15 an hour. (Partial credit for experience in the industry with other employers might also need to be considered.) There's no question that experienced workers are more valuable to employers; a minimum raise would require the employer to pay the worker for that value. A dramatic change to the starting wage may make it more difficult to hire and train less-skilled workers, taking away an opportunity from those who need it most. A minimum-raise law would provide a way to balance the need for opportunities for new workers with the need for a living wage for experienced employees.

David Robarts

Sacramento

More ball

Re “From bottle caps to the big league” by Tom Blodget (SN&R Scene & Heard, April 9):

I really enjoyed this article. For being such a prominent part of the game, there is very little coverage that focuses on the backstory of all those great Latino players. This story seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. I hope there is a part two to follow.

Anthony Auston

Oakland

Correction

In last week’s feature story (“How much are you worth?” by Nick Miller), Holly Dias’ name was misspelled. Sorry, Holly!